For many, the message could not be clearer: Don’t drink and drive.
Local business owner Shannon Dyck is using this message to help the family of Brandon Thomas, the 17-year-old Cochrane High School student who died after a collision with a suspected drunk driver on Highway 22 Dec. 6.
“We just wanted to figure out a way to try and support the Thomas’ and didn’t know what to do at first,” Dyck said of her family, including her daughter Lindsay, who knew Brandon since they were in kindergarten. “My husband Greg came up with the idea to do T-shirts.”
Dyck, who owns Shannon Designs-Embroidery and Promotions, already has several varieties of T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts and bumper stickers made up for purchase, with all the proceeds going directly to the Thomas family.
Dyck’s family designed the shirts and bumper stickers, incorporating what they called Brandon’s love for all things with wheels, his favourite colour of blue, a quote from the musical artist Eminem on the back and the central focus of the initiative, don’t drink and drive.
“When the news of Brandon’s tragic passing hit Facebook that night,” recalled Dyck, “it was an instant flurry of messages back and forth between the teens who knew him. As parents, we were numb with this tragic news, as it’s something you don’t ever want to experience, yet because we know the Thomas’, it was too close to home.”
Dyck’s daughter Lindsay had set up the Facebook page for the vigil held to remember Brandon at Mitford Pond on Dec. 8. Dyck said they had a table set up that night at the entrance to the vigil and the positive response to the T-shirts and bumper stickers was encouraging.
T-shirts can be purchased for $20, bumper stickers $6 and hooded sweatshirts through pre-orders online ([email protected]) for $45. Sales are in cash only. Dyck’s business is located at 252 River Ave. (inside Pro H2O).
